On Tuesday 8 June UCL’s Global Governance Institute will host a webinar exploring how the CoST approach can help to bridge governance gaps in infrastructure and meet global investment needs.
Infrastructure is a vital component of efforts to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and has particular importance in mitigating the impacts of climate change. Yet the Global Infrastructure Hub estimates that of the US$ 94 trillion needed to meet global infrastructure needs by 2040, there will be a $US 15 trillion investment gap.
The severity of this is compounded by the loss in current investment due to governance issues. The IMF estimates that inefficiencies result in a 30% loss, whilst in low-income countries this loss can reach 50%. Furthermore, during Covid-19 many governments have rapidly increased expenditure on healthcare infrastructure using emergency procurement measures to do so, risking corruption and inefficiency in the process.
CoST works globally with government, the private sector and civil society to heighten transparency, participation, and accountability in public and privately financed infrastructure. Through this approach, CoST has enabled better quality construction, greater trust in decision-makers and significant cost savings across its 19 member countries. CoST impact stories range from saving US$ 460 million in Thailand to closing a corrupt institution in Honduras to rectifying serious project issues in Uganda.
This event will expand on how CoST and similar initiatives can meet infrastructure governance gaps and global investment needs, paying particular attention to how a multi-stakeholder approach influences change in complex political environments.
Time:
Tuesday 08 June 2021
5:15 – 6:30pm BST
Speakers:
Professor Richard Calland, Associate Professor at University of Cape Town (UCT) and Fellow at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership
Evelyn Hernandez, CoST Head of Members and Affiliates
Professor George Ofori, Dean of the School of The Built Environment and Architecture, London Southbank University (LSBU) and CoST Board member
Chair:
Dr Armando Castro, Lecturer at the UCL Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction